Last week, I celebrated turning 50. I spent the day relaxing with my husband and kids, which is exactly what I wanted to do with the ones I love most.

The next day, I sat down and journaled, reflecting on my life so far – amazing moments and unbelievable heartache over the years. I ended up having an interesting conversation with my younger self.

Don’t worry, I’m a writer, so these schizophrenic conversations with myself are totally normal. I took away my titles, like, ‘wife’ and ‘mom’, and just focused on me, as an individual. Bottom line – I’ve come a long way, baby.